Coke-oven method



June 25, 1946. J. BECKER COKE-OVEN MTHOD Original Filed Nov. 3Sheets-Sheet 1 June 25,1946. J. BECKER COKE-OVEN METHOD Original FiledNov. lO, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 25, 1946. l J, BECKER 2,402,592

COKE-OVEN METHOD Original Filed Nov. 10, 1939 3 Sheeizs--Sluaeb3` I NVEN TOQ.

Patented June 1946 OGRE-OVEN METHQD Joseph Becker, Pittsburgh, Pa.,assigner, by mesne assignments, to Koppen Company, Inc., Pittsburgh,Pa., a corporation of Delaware application November 10, 1939, SerialNo.v 303,722. Divided and this application January 7, 1943, Serial No.471,630

` v 3 Claims- (01.202-26) The present invention relates to an improvedmethod of operating horizontal coke ovens more especially of theregenerative type and -particularly contemplates improvements inlevelling from the coke-side of a battery of such ovens, and thisapplication is a division of my copending application Serial No.303,722, flied November l0, 1939, for Coke-oven apparatus. now

Patent No. 2,310,924, issued February 16, 1943.

In prior practice in coke ovens of the stated class, the door machine,the coke guide and other heavy equipment commonly employed in operativeattendance at the coke-side of a battery have been propelled along thatbattery-face on trackage that is mounted on a bench supported by thebattery buckstays at a level adjacent to and just beneath theoven-soles. Such coke-side operating-bench of a battery is of aconstruction sufciently rugged to support not only the door-handlingmachine, the coke guide, and frequently other equipment as well, butalso the massive coke-oven doors themselves as they are moved along thecoke-side bench during their removal from and return to operatingposition in the ceiling-chamber mouths.

At the machine side (i. e. the pusher-machine side) of the battery, theheavy door-machine for that side and the leveler-bar for the ovens areyusually supported on the pusher machine with the result that neither itnor the oven doors are ever carried by the machine-side bench orbuckstays.

It has heretofore been general practice to level the coal-charges of a.battery o f horizontal coke ovens entirely from the one battery face;that is, from the pusher machine-side. In consequence of the relativelyconsiderable length of modern coke ovens and of their large quantitiesof to-be-levelled coal and also of the high temperatures in the adjacentoven brickwork, this practice has severely taxed the leveler-bar forwhich the provision of a material that is able successfully to cope withthe said operating cong ditions and to pass through acharged oven alonga strictly horizontal course, without bending at its far end, is more awish than a reality. The effects of any sagging or bending of theievelerbar as well as its whipping action during move- 'ment are allmostpronou'nced in those parts of 'the coal charge remotest from theleveler-bar support. In coke ovens having considerable length of colringchamber, the levelled -coalcharge has thus tended to exhibit a locallyhigher bulk density adjacent the coke-side than obtainsattl'iemachine-sideofthebattery.therebystilll further increasing thatnormal discrepancy of heat requirements between a coke-side and a pushermachine-side heating wall area resulting from the tapering of the cokingchambers, which increase in width from the pusher-side towards thecoke-side. In so far as there is concerned only the simple supplying ofthe added coking heat required by these zones -of coal having -a higherbulk density, the situation can of course be simply accommodated byincreasing the amount of fuel gas burned in those heating fluesthereadjacent and, in those cases where the employed coals exhibit onlycontraction throughout the coking process, these circumstances oiler noinsurmountable disadvantages.

When, however, the charged coals are somewhat expanding or belong tothose borderline groups exhibiting neither considerable expansion norcontraction during their coking, the

v,presence or absence of such localized zones of higher bulk density inthe levelled charge can be the diiierence between a damaged or undamagedheating wa1l,'or between a relatively diiilcultly or easily pushedcharge, and a brief consideration, at this point, of the situationscreated by their presence, more especially at the 'coke-side of an oven,may not be amiss in clarification of the difilculties they engender.

Due to the tapering of the coking chambers, the heating nues atthe'coke-side of an oven are of lesser cross-section than those at themachine-side and since the quantity of to-be-coked coal adjacent theformer is always the larger because the/oven chambers widen towards thecoke-side, there is naturally required, for the bringing of the whole of'an oven-charge simultaneously to the same degree of coking', highertemperatures in the coke-side heating flues so that coking heat can beflowed faster into the adjacent coal. If. in addition, the coal at thecoke-side has a higher bulk density than at the opposite (pusher-side)oven-end, the difference l in temperatures between the coke-side and thepusher machine-side heating nues must therethin be observed thephenomenon of, a coke-- oven charge that has expanded at the coke-sidesufficiently to cause stickers or even to damage the heating wallwhereas at the machine-side it has produced no untoward situation.

pression of the levelled charge is unavoidable, it

is advantageous that such conditions should rather exist at the ovenspusher machine-side and also that means for reducing the extremes towhich bulk density is altered in any portion of the charge during thelevelling operation will supply a needed contribution to the coking art.

The advantage of having the region of higher bulk density at themachine-side of an ovencharge does not reside exclusively in theincreased protection provided to the walls but also in the advantage itfurnishes in the pushing of the coked charge. For example, if thefreshly charged coal has been levelled' exclusively from themachine-side and its region of greatest bulk density is adjacent thecoke-side of the oven there can exist in the finished coke-cake a zoneof coke that is in pressure-contact with the oven walls at that side ofthe battery. This means that the pushing-pressure of the ram must betransmitted through a large part of the coke-cake which is substantiallyfree of the oven walls, and that, in consequence, a major portion of theentire cake can be collapsed upon itself inside the oven withoutstarting the plugged portion, and the entire cake will have to be'dugout. When such circumstance arises, the pressure of the ram istransmitted to the oven walls and they are not adapted to resist suchforce.

operations. If, however, the densest part of the coal-charge is shiftedfrom the coke-side to the` adjacent heating nues having lowertemperatures and also more closely adjacent the pusher-ram itself sothat the pressure exerted by the latter more nearly directly bears onthe possibly wedged portion and, in the event, there 4results a collapseof any intermediate coke in attempting thestarting of the coke-cake, itwill be restricted to a relatively minor portion thereof andleave themore vsubstantial part oi' the oven-charge intact for normal pushing. Y

The instant improvement now makes it vfeasible to employ a full-lengthieveler-bar at both the machine-side and the coke-side of a battery ofhorizontal coke ovens whereby those portions oi' greatest compression ofthe coal-charge, caused by the tendency of the leveler-bar to sag duringthe levelling operation, can be optionally disposed lengthwise of anoven in accordance with the cokingcharacteristics exhibited by a coal or.its mixture at the employed hue-temperatures and rates of coking. Otherfactors being equal, the zones oi' greatest bulk density of oven chargecan be placed at the one 'side of the` battery'by levelling exclusivelyfrom its opposite sideV and if preferred such zones will tend to bepositioned in the middle o! the oven when each oven-half is levelledsolely by the bar adjacent thereto. The last-mentioned method of Theyshould actl onlyas a sort of coke-guide during the pushing 4 coursetends toeect the least change of bulk density in any portion of thecharge and is oi' special advantage in use with coals having la tendencyto expand during the coking process because the average sagging of theboth levelerbars will be the least.

The invention has for further objects such other improvements and suchother operative advantages or results as may be found to obtain in theprocesses or apparatus hereinafter described or claimed.

According to the present invention a full length leveler-bar and thevarious mechanical features employed on the coke-discharge-side 0f thebattery for handling coke-oven doors, for directing hot coke into thequencher-car and for general attendance to the required oven-operationsat the coke-side face of an oven battery are mounted on a gantry that ispropellable along the cokeside battery-front on trackage locatedsubstantially at yard level and out of contact with the structural'mass'of the battery, vthe legs of said gantry being disposed onopposite sides of the quencher-car trackage with the bridge sectionthereof at sufllcient height above the top of said on the gantry can ofcourse serve as adeguate substitution for the extended operating benchof the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification andshowing for purposes of exempliiication a preferred 'form and manner inwhich the method of the present invention may be embodied and practicedbut without limiting the claimed invention speiilcally to suchillustrative instance or instances:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken crosswise of a regenerativecoke-oven battery through a coking chamber thereof and showing suchaccessory equipment as' thel larry-car, the pusher machine, and the likecustomarily employed in the operation of such ovens and also a gantrypositioned at the coke-side of the illustrated battery, said gantryhaving mounted thereon a coke-oven bench, a door-handling mechanism, a

coke-guide, and s. leveler-bar for leveling the oven l l charges fromthe coke-side;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of-Fig. 1 with the larrycar omitted:

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially along 'the line B-B of Fig. 4,illustrating levelling from the coke-side of the battery; and

Fig. 4 is a view taken substantially along the line IV-IV of Fig. 1. r

,f Referring now to the drawings:

d at a convenient level operation. The illustrated coke-oven batterycomprises essentially a plurality of coking chamtically-extendingbuckstays I2 which function to maintain the alignment of the heatingwalls as well as the brickwork thereof and the regenerator walls I3 intheir designed positions in the heated battery. To effect this end thebuckstaysare each secured at their lower ends to the batterysupportingmat I4 and at ytheir upper ends are joined to a similarly-positionedbuckstay at the opposite battery-face by tie-rod` means I5 that extendacross the top of the battery. Resilient means, such as coil-springs I8,areprovided at each end of the said tie-rods at their juncture with thebuckstays thereby to provide for a certain amount of movement, at thatpoint, whereby a limited expansion and contraction of the includedheating Wall can occur without seriously altering the extent of thepressure-contact exist ing between it and said buckstays.

Beneath the heating wallsand extending crosswise of the battery insubstantial parallelism therewith are cross-regenerators I1 forpreheating combustion media before introducing the same into the lowerparts of the heating flues individually through ducts Il. Cokingchambers I0`are closed at each end by removable doors I9, each such doorcomprising an external metal framework 2l. and a thereby supportedheavyrefractory plug 2l that operates toprevent overheating of the metallicframework. The doors for the cokng chambers are provided at both thecoke-side and the machine-side of the battery with chock-doors 22 sothat coal charged into the ovens from larry-car 23 through chargingholes24 can be levelled from both sides of the battery.

At the end of the carbonization period, the residue of coke in thecoking chambers is pushed therefrom by the usual pusher machine which ismoved along the machine-side of the battery from oven to oven ontrackage 25, as shown in Fig. l. The said pusher machine comprises heavyframework 2l that supports the diagrammatically illustrated pusher-ram2l and leveler-bar 21 and the both of which are capable of individualreciprocatory movement lengthwise of the coking f chamber by means notshown, the former serving to remove the residual coke-cakes from thecoking chambers whereas the latter operates to provide the top of coalfreshly charged into an oven with a level surface such that the iinturalelementa framework in the form of a gantry having legs 3| and abridge-section 32. 'I'he legs of said gantry are mounted on severalflanged wheels 33 that are adapted to engage tracks 34, and at least onewheel on either side of the gantry has attached thereto a gear 35whereby the improved unitary machine is propelled by means of anelectrical motor 38 that is preferably individual to each such drivenwheel. Power is delivered from said motors to the gears 35 through anassembly of gears comprising pinion 31, idler gear 3l. and intermediateLgea'r l-a, the motors being arranged by suitable wiring for individualcontrol by the operator from cab 39.

Each bridge-section 32 is of sufficient span and y height to permit freepassage of coke quencher- Y car 40 therebeneath along its tracks 4i. The

bridge-sections of the gantry and the mechanisms that theysupport areprotected against radiation from the incandescent coke contained in the'quencher-car by means of an appropriate layer of insulation 42.Discharge gate 43 lof the quencher-car permits loading of quenched cokeon the coke-wharf 44.

lDisposed on the gantry coke-side machine 3l and transportable therebyfrom coking chamber to coking chamber are a door-handling mechanism 45,a coke-side leveler-bar 4B, and also a coke-guide 41 that is arranged todirect 'and transport the hot coke-cake, as it emerges from its cokingchamber under pressure exerted by the above-mentioned pusher-ram 28 onthe machine side, into the quencher-car 4I therefor whence it is takento a quenching station and cooled before being unloaded unto thecoke-wharf 44. Lookingalong the cokeside of the battery of Fig. l, thereis observed in succession the door-handling mechished coke-cake willhave no irregularities protruding above the upper edge of thecokingchamber mouth. Although for purposes of convenience it is notillustrated in the drawings, apparatus for operating the door-latchesand manipulating the pusher-machine-side doors are also normallysupported on the pusher machine 28.A

The heavy equipment customarily employed at the coke-side of a batteryduring routine oven operations is assembled on a gantryto form a unitarymachine 3l that is propellable from oven to oven on trackage locatedsubstantially at yard level, said machine and its supported equipmentbeing entirely out of contact with any of the batterys structuralfeatures. y

As is clearly evident in the drawings the cokeside machine Il comprisesas'its principal strucanism 45, the leveler-bar', and the coke guide,.41 all supported at the top of the gantry. Each of these oven-operatingdevices is arranged with individual actuating means controllable fromcab I9. l

j The door-lifting mechanism, shown in enlarged view in Fig. 4,comprises a ram 48 that is reciprocable longitudinally of the cokingchambers between four'pairs of flanged wheels 48, each such pair beingmounted for rotation on shafts 5I that are themselves carried by thevertically-disposed,

supports 5I. At the forward end'of the ram 4l is the ram-head l2 that isprovided with reciprocal motion at right .angles to the body ofthe ramalong aline controlled by guide-ways; The said ram-head directlysupports .the divers mechanisms employed for manipulatingv the doors andfor operating their latches, said mechanisms comprising respectivelybumper-pin Il, for engaging bumper-platen' on the doors I9, thedoor-hook 54, that is susceptible of actuation in a vertical plane so asto engage and release hook-plate 55 whereby the oven-doors are supportedas they 'are moved by the reciprocal movement of ram 48 in removing themfrom and restoring them to their oven doorways, and the upper and lowerlatchoperating devices Il for cooperation with latch pins 5l', that areall constructed accordingto that design for such mechanism set forth inthe co-pending application Ser. No. 140,960 of Berg and Crist, filed May5, 1937 now Patent No.

As shown 1n Fig. 3, the gantry of the invention is furnished with aleveler-bar 4l so that coal freshly charged into the coking chambers canbe optionally levelled either solely from the machine-side or thecoke-sidel or from both said sides of the battery either simultaneouslyor at 7 spaced intervals. It is supported on the gantry by means similarto that previously described for the support of the door-ram; that is,the levelerbar is held between spaced and paired pairs of iianged wheels60 that are rotatable on upper and lower surfaces of said bar,substantially as illustrated, the said pairs of Wheelers being eachsupported on va shaft 6l therefor that is carried by an upright 62. 'Ihe leveler-bar is provided with reciprocating motion longitudinally ofthe coking chambers so that by opening chock-hole 61 of the coke-sidedoors it can be moved along a path extending into the gas-collectingspace 58 of the coking chambers, said reciprocating motion beingimparted thereto by motor 63 that operates through speed-reducinggearing 64 to rotate drum 66 around which cables S6, 61, are wound inopposite directions, the said cables being attached to the leveler-baradjacent respectively its inner and outer ends after passingrespectively over sheaves 68, 69. Rotation of drum 65 in oppositedirections will thus cause similar travel of the leveler-bar between theflanged wheels 60.

The coke-guide 41 is disposed on the gantry of the invention on theopposite side of the levelerbar 46 from that at which the door-handlingmechanism 45 is located, as shown in Fig. 2. It is made up in thepresent instance, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, of two rows ofverticallyspaced, horizontally-extending metallic slats 'l0 that aresupported on the inner side of a. framework formed by the verticalH-beams 1|, the horizontal channel-bars 12,13, and the angle-irons 14that are arranged substantially as shown in Fig. 4. Attached to thebottom of the framework are the heavy platesl 15, 16, that are formedofa metal suitable for resisting the abrasive effect of the hot coke as itis shield-plates thus serve 'to protect the combustion-mediaflow-reversing mechanisms from betery for, the convenience of theoperators during the oven-pushing operations, are located on the gantryas shown in Fig. 4. In the present instance there are two such members,a lower one 92 that is located a short distance below the ovensoles andan upper one 93 that has projecting pushed over their surfaces. The saidframework of the coke-guide is also mounted on the gantry forreciprocating movement longitudinally of the coking chambers. Tofacilitate such movementits lower part rests on pairs of wheels 1i andbetween the flanges thereof, each such pair being supported on arotatable shaft 18 that extends through the bushing-block 19 carried byI-beams 80, and the top of said framework is arranged to move betweenand be supported by spaced rollers 8| that depend from channel-bars 8 2.yActuation of the coke-guide is effected by motor 83 operating throughthe speed-reducing gearing 84 and the pinion gear 85 that is disposedfor engagement with rack 86 located on the bottom of the framework ofthe coke-guide. Pinion gear 85 is also supported on bushing-block 19.The actuating mechanism for the coke-guide is preferably so arrangedthat, at its limit of travel toward the battery, there remains a smallclearance between the slats of said guide and the jambnplatessurrounding the oven-mouth, so that vibrations of the former created bythe passage of pushed coke therethrough are not directly transmitted tothe is a small shield-.plate 81 that serves to. carry the small amountof such detritus as breeze and the like, loosened from the coke-cakeduring its pushing, across the gasand the air-flow reversing mechanisms,respectively 88, 8S, into a receptacle A 9,0 therefor on the gantrywhence it can be intertherefrom small stages which give easy access tothe tops of the doors vfor cleaning their sealing edges. A stairway 94connects said lower and upper benches.

For access to bench 92 there is provided at the end of the battery andsupported adjacent the outer surface of a pinion wall thereof, a benchhaving a stairway` that reaches to yard level. The said bench ispreferably at a level adjacent that of the operating platform 92 of thegantry thereby serving as a convenient means of access to the latter.

From the foregoing it will be manifest that by means `ofthe gantry, theheavy mechanisms normally required more especially at the coke-side of abattery of horizontal coke ovens, can be stably supported in theirrequired positions closely adjacent tothe battery-face yet entirely outof contact with structural elements thereof while still retaining thequencherbar in its normal posi-v tion in respect of the battery. Bymeans of the gantry it becomes also feasible to dispense with theextended battery-supported operating bench of the prior art and thelarge requirements of material for its construction. In consequence ofits great stability, the gantry construction makes it feasible to employa leveler-bar of effective length at the coke-side of the battery foruse alone or in conjunction with a leveler-bar mounted as customarily onthe pusher-side of the battery, to attain the novel features and endsset forth in the forepart of this specification in levelling coal in theoven chambers from their coke-side ends, whether solely from that end orconjointly with levelling from the pusher-side.

The invention as hereinabove set forth is embodied in particular formand manner but may be variously embodied within the scope of the claimshereinafter made.

I claim:

l..In amethod of operating a battery of sideby-side horizontal cokeovens for discharge of -nished coke therefrom which comprises the stepsbers and out of the chambers through the oppo.-

site horizontal ends thereof; the improvement which comprises: levellingthe coal charges throughout the entire length of the respective ovenchambers, and in so doing disposing the zone of greatest levellingcompression in the respective so-formed coal charges ata cokingchamberzone lying between about the middle portion of the coking chamber andits mouth where pushing pressure for the coke-cake is to be applied, sothat the zone of greatest density in the finished coke-cake will existbetween about the middle portion of the coking chamber and thatoven-mouth at which pushing pressure is to be applied and possiblecollapse in the cokecake resulting from application of pushing pressureconsequently will be restricted toa relatively minor rather than to amajor portion of the cokecake, by effecting the aforesaid leveling ofthe so-charged coal in the chambers by the operation of leveler-barsfrom both horizontal ends of theoven chambers.

2. In a method of operating a battery of sideby-side horizontal cokeovens for discharge of finished coke therefrom which comprises the stepsof charging coal to be coked into the chambers through their tops,thereafter leveling the so charged-in coal by reclprocation ofaleveler-bar with free suspended movementv of the same over the tops ofthe charge from outside the oven through an end .of the respectivechambers and sagging of the leveler-bar towards its: free end y,duringits levelling action, and after the respective charges are finishedcoking, applying pushing force to the coked mass at one horizontal endof the chambers and thereby pushing the coked mass as a unitary. wholethrough the respective chambers and out of the chambers through theopposite horizontal ends thereof; the improvement which comprises:levelling the coalcharges throughout the entire length of the respectiveoven chambers, and in so doing disposing the charged-in coal byreciprocation of a leveler-bar with free suspended movement of the sameover the tops of the charge from outside the oven through an end of therespective chambers and sagging of the leveler-bar towards its free endduring its levelling action, and after the respective charges arefinished coking, applying pushing force to the coked mass at onehorizontal end of' the chambers and thereby pushing the coked mass as aunitary whole through the respective chambers and out of the chambersthrough the zone of greatest levelling compression in the respectiveso-formed coal charges at a lcokingchamber zone lying between-about themiddle portion of the coking chamber and its mouth.

where pushing pressure for the coke-cake is-to be applied, so that thezone of greatest density in the finished coke-cake will exist betweenabout the middle portion of the coking chamber and that oven-mouth at;rwhich pushing pressure is to be applied and possible collapse in thecokecake resulting from application of pushing pres--` Y sureconsequently will beirestricted to a relatively minor rather than to amajor portion of the cokeopposite horizontal ends thereof; theimprovement which comprises: levelling the coal charges throughout theentire length of the respective oven chambers, and in so doing disposingthe zone of greatest levelling compression in the respective so-formedcoal charges at a coking-chamber zone lying between about the middleportion of the coking chamber and its mouth where pushing pressure forthe coke-cake is to be applied, so that the zone of greatest density inthe finished coke-cake will exist between about themiddle portion of thecoking chamberv and that oven-A mouth at which pushing pressure is to beapplied and possible collapse in the coke-cake resulting fromapplication of pushing pressure consequently will be restricted to arelatively minor rather than toa maior portion of the coke-cake, by

eifecting leveling of the so-charged coal in the chambers as aforesaidby the operation of a leveler-bar from the horizontal .ends of the ovenchambers opposite that end at which the pushing force is to be appliedlater to discharge the coked mass from the respective chambers.

JOSEPH BECKER.

